


"I Don't Like the Water"

by quickwest



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-07-01
Updated: 2016-07-01
Packaged: 2018-07-19 11:18:45
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7359130
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/quickwest/pseuds/quickwest
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Barry and Iris take their kids on a vacation to the beach</p>
            </blockquote>





	"I Don't Like the Water"

Iris _hated_ the beach. She didn’t like the feel of her feet sinking in the sand while her soles burned from the heat of the ground and the blinding beam of the sun sun whenever she tried to walk around. She hated swimming; just being in a position where there was so much open space to get lost scared her. 

She didn’t need to go out and soak up the sun because “I do that every day when I go outside, Bear. Plus hello, I don’t need to tan.” And what made the beach even worse was the sand getting stuck everywhere; her hair, all over her body and somehow in her bottoms.

But somehow Barry convinced her to go. Actually he guilt tripped her into it by saying:

“You can’t deprive the kids a classic childhood memory of going to the beach.”

And so she sighed as Barry looked at her with those soft, adorable eyes that widened a bit more when he stared at her and always looked happy whenever he was home. Those eyes, she learned early on in their relationship, could convince her to do anything and now in their marriage, she accepted that.

They finally had the chance to get away for a weekend since the twins were enjoying their summer and both Barry and Iris requested vacation time. The city was quiet from crime for once, so the team at STAR Labs pushed the couple to take a break. It felt like they were running around every single day for their career, to be heroes, and most importantly to be good parents.

Barry led the way and found the perfect spot in the middle of the beach between a young woman who sat while reading a magazine and an older couple who appeared to be in their late forties who both laid silent on their backs, sunglasses covering their eyes as the sun’s rays beamed down on them.

The twins were almost bouncing with excitement since it was their first time going. Their three-year-old bodies were bubbling and before they even got settled, both children had handfuls of sand and began throwing them around.

“Hey!” Barry called out, getting there attention. “Do you want to help your mom and I put the towels down?”

“Yes!” Don said first, then they were determined to lay the towels. Dawn helped Barry with the large navy, striped towel, while Don grabbed the other end of Iris’s purple one.

Barry and Iris found out early on that their kids were explorers because they loved being outside; whether they went for a walk, or they went to the park down the block. Whenever they went to the park, they didn’t even need their toys. They would run around, collect sticks, or go on adventures in the small jungle gym. Don liked going down the slides, and Dawn loved the swings and having Iris or Barry push her.

Being at the beach now was something completely new to the kids, a brand new adventure. The first thing Barry did when they sat down was scour their beach bag for sunscreen because he made sure to pack not one, but two bottles because he convinced himself that one of the twins would end up squeezing an entire bottle on the sand.

“Okay, here you go,” he said.

Getting the twins to sit still long enough was a hassle. They wanted to get their toys out and start playing. Iris finally coaxed them into sitting by promising popsicles at the end of the day. Sure, it probably wasn’t the best method in the world, but it got the kids to sit long enough for Barry and Iris to lather the sunscreen on the twins’ exposed skin.

For a while, Dawn and Don played with their sand toys. They filled buckets with sand only to throw the sand out onto the ground right after. Iris split her attention between her kids, the book she finally found time to read, and Barry who was people watching, and they both made up stories for random beach goers.

“What about that guy?” Barry asked, nodding his head in the direction of a young guy walking around the shore.

“Baywatch, dude? The red swim trunks aren’t convincing that he’s not a life guard,” Iris snorted. Just then squabbling between the kids ensued as they both tried to wrestle for a shovel.

Barry was the first to intervene, taking the shovel away from them which only led the two of them to be on the verge of tears.

“How about we go in the water?” Barry suggested.

Both kids looked at their dad, and Iris and Barry exchanged glances of relief from dodging two temper tantrums. Don was up on his feet quickly, excited that there was yet another part of the world for him to explore. Barry grabbed his hand, and Dawn stood up too. Everyone stared at her expectantly, until she shook her head and said:

“No.”

“What? It’s okay, come on,” Barry urged, holding a hand out for her, but she backed away quickly.

“No! I don’t want to,” she said and ran over to Iris, and Iris could just feel the fear that radiated off Dawn’s body, so she just looked up at Barry and shook her head as well.

Barry just smiled knowingly and scooped Don up into his arms as they made their way over to the shore; Don’s laughter echoing as they walked away. Dawn was squeezing onto Iris’s hand as if it was her lifeline. It was surprising for Iris to see because even though her children were young, her daughter was fearless, but the ocean represented caution to her. 

So Dawn settled into the space between Iris’s crossed legs and played with the bucket of sand. Iris adjusted the bow on Dawn’s white hat that matched her one piece swimsuit. 

“Do you want to build a sand castle?” Iris asked enthusiastically, and Dawn turned to Iris with wide, bright eyes.

“Okay,” she eagerly nodded and they began to fill buckets with sand, until they were left with one empty, pale pink bucket. 

“It looks like we need some water,” Iris said, standing up. 

Quickly she wiped the sand off her arms and tightened the sarong wrap around her waist. Iris looked at Dawn whose eyes were suddenly so terrified. Her eyebrows scrunched up and she stood so still.

“Dawn,” Iris said, softly. 

Her heart was filled with sympathy for her daughter; the kids were frightened by the strangest things like ants, they would run away at the sight of an ant but then run towards bees. Dawn loved playing in the sprinklers when it was warm out, but this water was treacherous. She nervously held onto the bucket in her hands.

“I’m scared,” Dawn pouted, “I don’t like the water.” 

“It’s okay, you don’t have to be scared, I’ll be with you the whole time. And look at dad and your brother, they’re having fun.”

Barry’s feet were in the water while Don looked like he was trying to grab something. He then looked up at Barry and threw water at him. That prompted Barry to splash Don back until they were at an all out war and they chased each other along the shoreline. Don’s laughter was louder than the crash of the waves when Barry picked him up and began poking at his sides. That seemed to warm Dawn up a bit when she looked at Iris again.

“Here, take my hand,” Iris said, reaching her hand out for her daughter to grab, and Dawn followed and they began to take cautious steps to the water until they were with Barry and Don.

Their epic water fight had just ended, and Barry looked at Iris and Dawn confused at first. Dawn got her expressions from him because they both did that thing where their eyebrows furrowed and their heads cocked to the side when they didn’t understand something. Drops of water fell from his hair and onto his hair and he walked over to Iris, careful at first to keep his balance on the uneven surface. Then he was at her side and absentmindedly place a hand on the small of her back.

“We needed water for a sand castle, but she still seems scared,” Iris explained before he had the chance to ask. 

Barry nodded then his gaze dropped to the kids who began laughing at each other and running around. 

“She doesn’t look too terrified anymore,” he said.

Iris turned to see that Dawn had abandoned the bucket, and she and her brother ran over to wet part of the sand that the water barely touched, picking up a couple shells and rocks. It sent a warm feeling to her that made her heart flutter. When she wondered how she could love anyone as much, and if not more than her husband, her kids proved that.

“Still hate the beach?” Barry asked, snapping her thoughts away.

Iris laughed and swatted his arm because maybe she didn’t, not anymore at least.


End file.
